The first image of Mercury captured from orbit by MESSENGER (Image: NASA)

Article Summary

After reaching orbit around Mercury on March 17, NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft has sent back its first image of our solar system’s innermost planet. The historic image, which was captured at 5:20 am EDT (U.S.), is the first ever captured from a spacecraft in orbit and is dominated by the rayed crater named Debussy. The bottom portion of the image also shows a region of Mercury’s surface near the planet’s south pole that had not previously been seen by spacecraft.